Notwithstanding the ostensible simplicity of his first appearance in
public for 25 years, holding hands with Winnie and emerging
through the entrance of Victor Verster on foot, Mandela's release was
carefully planned. A National Reception Committee headed by
Cyril Ramaphosa, the secretary-general of the National Union of
Mineworkers (NUM), had been appointed by UDF (United Democratic Front) leaders and trade unionists. Unlike many of the principals in the 'Mass Democratic Tradition', Ramaphosa had not been
brought up as an instinctive African National Congress (ANC) loyalist. The son of a policeman in Vendaland, he had studied law at the
University of the North and while a student had joined the Black
Consciousness Movement (BCM). At its formation, the NUM was
not associated with the pro-ANC grouping of trade unions. As its
secretary-general, Ramaphosa became the Union's chief negotiator,
proving a tough and capable adversary in his confrontations with the
management of the mining industry, historically the most reluctant
sector of the industrial economy to concede collective bargaining
rights to black workers. He joined the ANC secretly in the late 1980s
but, in common with many other trade union leaders, he remained
highly conscious of representing a separately and independently
organised constituency. Ramaphosa and other members of the
Committee needed time for preparations and Mandela had to persuade de Klerk to defer his release for 24 hours: originally the South
African president wanted Mandela to be at liberty on 10 February. In
the evening of 10 February, Ramaphosa and his colleagues arrived
at Mandela's bungalow to help him draft a statement. Ramaphosa

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